Essay Sample on Android vs iOS: Comparing Operating System Architecture and Software Development

Introduction

Most of the mobile devices in the market use an android operating system, whereas a substantial percentage of mobile devices use the iOS operating system. The two operating systems differ when it comes to software development and operating system architecture. For instance, the iOS architecture is layered, having the lower, intermediate, and upper layers. On the other hand, Android OS has an entirely different architecture as it employs a different application framework. The diverseness between these two operating systems has a negative impact on the application development process. Companies incur more cost than what is expected; this is because companies must rely on the services of different developers to build these applications. The result of this is high maintenance and development costs.

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New technologies have been introduced to solve the problem caused by multi-platform development processes such as the one illustrated above. The cross-platform network used relies on web technologies to develop both Android and iOS applications. The technique utilizes a unique programming language that allows developers to write and use the same code for both Android and iOS versions. The cross-platform network has played a critical role in reducing the time and cost required to build these applications.

Cross-platform networks such as Cordova, Xamarin from Microsoft, and PhoneGap have been used to develop hybrid applications. The systems allow developers to utilize standard web technologies such as JavaScript for cross-platform development of applications. Hybrid applications are those applications that combine elements of both web applications and native apps. Hybrid applications are, therefore, popular due to the feature that allows them to be used on two different platforms.

Hybrid applications work almost similarly to web apps. They are built with HTML and JavaScript programming language. Hybrid applications incorporate standard native features. For instance, a wrapper is deployed to act as a bridge between the two platforms. The bridge layer in the hybrid applications allows JavaScript to access the device capabilities that are hard to obtain from the mobile browser. Through interfaces such as the JavaScript interface, the developer can use callbacks to grant access to the hybrid applications, making them similar to the native app. However, direct callbacks may lead to exposure of JavaScript engine to multiple threads making it harder to manage.

Hybrid applications are often associated with vulnerabilities due to their interaction between the two worlds: native and web. Hybrid apps are easily vulnerable to attack because JavaScript and HTML programming language is easily reverse-engineered. Therefore, attackers may have an easy time coming up with attacking techniques. Moreover, the fact that hybrid applications run in a web browser surrounded by browser capabilities may also trigger security vulnerabilities.

One of the recently discovered security vulnerabilities is Frame confusion. Frame concussion in hybrid applications is a vulnerability that allows malicious behavior between the main web page and different domains. The vulnerability affects both the mobile apps that operate on Android and iOS. Efforts have been put in place to solve the problems in both operating systems, but only one has been successful the iOS. The Frame confusion vulnerability is still prevalent in hybrid applications. There have been challenges due to inadequate analysis of the problem. Besides, a way or method of detecting frame confusion vulnerability in hybrid apps has not been found.

The Frame confusion vulnerability arises due to the invoking of the native code by JavaScript through web pages, in this case a document embedded inside another document. Mostly referred to as the IFrame element. The Frame confusion vulnerability allows a communication channel to be built across web pages with different domains. Moreover, it enables the bypassing of security model isolation. For the frame confusion vulnerability to be exploited, the attacker has to access the JavaScript interfaces. The attack may be made by directly controlling the webpage, e.g., to create a malicious advertisement. The attacker may also choose to exploit the vulnerability by putting malicious code in the web page. The effects of these exploitations may lead to the disclosure of private information, or encourage more attacks.

The main focus will be on the Frame Confusion Vulnerability on Android operating systems stated earlier; Android mobile devices are more thus mainly affected. The android operating system will be explained critically. To come up with the solution to the Frame confusion vulnerability in hybrid applications operating on Android systems, a method of detecting the vulnerability must be proposed. The method should be able to handle the whole issue of Frame confusion vulnerability efficiently Droid is a critical tool that aid in the implementation of such a methodology and also detection of the vulnerability. Often the discovery of these vulnerabilities is not taken seriously, and therefore, an automatic method should be implemented.

Conclusion

Independent analysis done shows that almost half of the apps being analyzed incorporate or use the WebView component. Moreover, the apps support JavaScript execution. Less than 10 percent of the apps were found to be vulnerable to Frame Confusion. Frame confusion has had a negative impact on users' credentials and their privacy. However, hybrid applications have played a crucial role in mobile application development.